1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scuff plate that luminously displays a desired shape (a letter, a numeral, and the like).
2. Description of the Related Art
A scuff plate device for use in an automobile that yields a decorative effect by luminously displaying a character, and the like, has been put into practice. FIG. 6 shows an example of a related-art transmission, light-emitting scuff plate device 100. In the scuff plate device 100, a character plate 101 (e.g., an aluminum plate) punched into the shape of a desired character, and the like, is piled on a light guide plate 102. An underside of the light guide plate 102 is printed in white. A light source 103 is positioned at a place opposite an end face of the light guide plate 102. When the light source 103 is illuminated in such a scuff plate device 100, light is guided into the light guide plate 102 by way of its end face. The thus-guided light undergoes reflection on the underside of the light guide plate 102, whereby light oriented in an upper surface of the light guide plate 102 is produced. As a consequence, light is emitted from the upper surface of the light guide plate 102. The thus-emitted light reaches the character plate 101, and a portion of the light goes out by way of the punched areas formed in the character plate 101. The predetermined character, and the like, is luminously displayed through foregoing operation. In addition to the display device having the foregoing configuration, display devices with various contrivances have already been proposed (Patent Documents 1 through 4). For instance, in a scuff plate device described in Patent Document 1, only partial areas of the underside of the light guide plate are printed in white so as to correspond to punched areas of the character plate rather than the entire underside of the light guide plate being printed in white, thereby reducing the area of a light reflection region and illuminating a character, and the like, in a uniform quantity of light. In Patent Document 1, there is proposed a contrivance for creating a half-mirror layer on a light guide plate, thereby causing a character to be observed with a metallic taste when the device is not illuminated. Patent Document 5 describes a surface emitting device utilizing two light guide members. In the surface emitting device, two light guide members whose upper surfaces are partially roughened are superposed one on top of the other, and light is introduced into the respective light guide members. Portions (surface-roughened areas) of the upper surfaces of the respective light guide members are consequently illuminated, to thus emit light, and a luminous display in a desired shape, such as a check pattern, is provided. The surface emitting device is suitable for a simple luminous display, such as a luminous display of a predetermined pattern and a luminous display of one arrow on an entire light emitting surface, but is not suitable for a luminous display of a string of characters or figures, as in a scuff plate. In particular, a boundary between a luminous section and a non-luminous section is not structurally clear; hence, a character, a figure, and the like, cannot be clearly displayed.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2001-163117    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2002-279817    Patent Document 3: JP-A-2005-221661    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2006-062431    Patent Document 5: JP-A-2007-294297
Against the backdrop, the challenge to be met by the present invention is to provide a scuff plate that yields high visibility as well as a superior decorative effect.